Feeling a bit tired now, but got a good day’s exercise in. Cycled in to work via New South Head Road, but the bloody hill through King’s Cross almost killed me; HR peaked at 177. I could have gone through the tunnel but I figured that it’s probably not the safest place to cycle through in rush hour traffic.

The lunchtime swim session was another distance oriented one which was cool. Felt a bit better today than I did on Wednesday, so I reckon I’ve managed to shake off the cold before it got established. However my legs were cramping up again towards the end of the session, so I’ll have to figure out what that’s about. It’s not dehydration, so all I can think of is that it may be caused by me not stretching my legs after riding in in the morning. Something to remember for next week then.

400 warm up
4 * 400 FS on 6:30 (5:39)
3 * 100 BC on 2:00 (1:45)
3 * 100 IM on 2:00 (1:27)
6 * 100 FS on 1:40 (1:25)
200 warm down
Total: 3400m

Cycled home via Centennial Park and did some core/weights stuff when I got home. Going to get some ice-cream now ;-)

S: 6600m – B: 58km – 2 * weights/core

Yesterday’s lunchtime swim was a bit of a welcome surprise in that we did some 400s and 200s instead of the usual raft of 100s & 50s. While chatting to the coach afterwards he mentioned that he was going to try to do more distance work in future which I’m very happy about. Unfortunately, I felt very sluggish during the whole session which I figured was the beginnings of a cold caught from Jacqui. Sure enough, she woke up sick this morning and I wasn’t feeling great either.

400 warm up
2 * 400 Pull on 6:20 (5:50)
5 * 200 FS on 3:15 (2:51)
3 * 100 FS on 1.35/1:30/1:30
3 * 100 BC on 1:55 (1:45)
2 * 100 FS on 1:50
200 warm down
Total: 3200m

I cycled in and out of work as well, doing a couple of laps of Centennial Park on the way home for a total of 30.7km, then did a weights/core session when I got home.

S: 3200m – B: 30.7km – 1 weights/core

Since we’re in Canberra this week, myself and Tom brought the bikes down so we could get some mountain biking in. On Monday night we headed out with Dean, aiming for Majura Pines. We got to the entrance to the forest when Tom decided he was going back to the hotel as he was still a bit jetlagged and wasn’t feeling too good. Myself and Dean proceeded to ride singletrack for two hours, making it back to the hotel just after dark. We were a bit worried when there was no sign of Tom, or his bike, in the room, thinking that he must have been feeling a bit worse than he thought!

We checked at reception to make sure he hadn’t shown up and were in the garage about to go looking for him when he rang from the room. He’d gotten a puncture just after leaving us, and by the time he’d fixed it he was feeling OK, so he’d gone for a ride after all. Hed’ found himself without a patch, or a spare tube, after a second puncture, so he was forced to walk home, which explained how we’d got home before him despite not passing him on the trails. To be honest, the first place we were planning on looking was Debacle, figuring he’d settled in for some food and a Duvel!

Paul brought us to Kowen Forest, site of the MONT 24hr race, on Tuesday evening. It’s a 17.3km course consisting mainly of singletrack with a few bits of firetrail as joiners. It was raining, but we went anyway as it was still quite warm. I’d given Tom a spare tube, but he was still getting slow punctures, so we’d end up cycling for 10mins, then stopping to pump up his tyre before getting going again. He was getting a bit sick of it by the end of the lap. We opted for the short course as we had no lights and didn’t want to be caught in the middle of an unfamiliar forest after dark, but I’m keen to try the long course the next time we’re down, this time with no slow punctures ;-)

B: 37.3km

Made it to La Perouse on the way home after all, though it was bloody hot. It amazing what a pain in the arse it is to ride in traffic. It was about 33km in total, yet it took over 1.5hrs. As soon as I’d get going I’d have to stop at a bloody traffic light. Got home just in time to shower, have something to eat and head out for the swim, only to have the bus fail to show up so I never got to do it after all.

S: 5200m – B: 82.3km – 3 * core

Got up this morning and did a core session before heading off to work on the bike. I had intended cycling to La Perouse on the way, but didn’t have time so I doubled back at the roundabout at Maroubra Junction. Did a pretty good session in the pool at lunch time, but my legs totally cramped up towards the end of the session, probably because I never didi any stretching after the ride in the morning, and hadn’t really eaten any decent food (a muffin doesn’t count). Must force myself to eat something decent for breakfast in future.

600 Warm Up
2 * {
    100 Single Arm
    100 6 strokes FS/BC } on 3:50 (3:05)
2 * 200 Pull on 3:30 (3:10)
4 * 100 FS on 1:40 (1:24)
2 * 100 FS on 1:35 (1:24)
2 * 100 FS on 1:30 (1:24)
3 * 100 IM on 1:50 (1:30)
100 Warm Down
Total: 2600m

I got in to work relatively early, so I might cycle home vis La Perouse. BRATs are holding a 1km sea swim this evening at North Bondi, so I might give that a go as well. I’ll see how I feel after the cycle home.

S: 5200m – B: 47.3km – 3 * core

Yesterday was Australia Day, a public holiday, so myself and Kevin headed off to the Blue Mountains to do a bit of mountain biking. We decided en-route to have a go at the Linden Ridge trail which turned out to be an inspired choice. After a few kms of fire trail we found the start of the singletrack section off to the side. It was a little overgrown, so we were getting scratched and scraped by bushes & small tree branches as we travelled along, crashing through plenty of spider webs (we took turns leading). The terrain was quite varied, alternating between rocky, sandy and leafy, with plenty of puddles from the rain that morning which kept things interesting and fairly challenging. 6.5kms later we got to the end – no expansive views or anything special, just the trail petering out, so we turned around and came back. The return journey seemed quicker, maybe because we knew what to expect and just balsted through most of the puddles as we now knew how deep they were.

On returning to the firetrail we decided to keep going for a few more kms until we found another, shorter, section of singletrack, approximately 1.5km long. Did that too, then decided to turn for home. There was a little more firetrail to go, but it was downhill to a turnaround (with nothing spectacular to see there) and since we’d been riding for almost 3 hours at this stage and were both getting a bit tired, we decided we couldn’t be bothered adding any more climbing to the route. The return journey wasn’t as uphill as we thought it would be, but there were still a couple of big hills which we had to struggle up. By the end we were both exhausted and commented that perhaps we should have turned around a little sooner!

All up it was bloody good fun. After a pint and some wedges we headed home and had an Australia Day barbie at mine with Niall & Mayra. We’de pretty much finished eating before we realised we hadn’t had any lamb so we rectified that by throwing on a few chops. It wouldn’t do to be UnAustralian!

Woke up this morning with scratches & scrapes, a bruised hip from falling over while clipped in on a tricky rocky bit and a nice sunburnt neck. I was also totally exhausted – maybe the beer, wine, wedges & bbq meat was less than optimal refueling nutrition ;-)

The ride is definitely one we’ll do again with the rest of the guys, though maybe with long sleeve shirts!

S: 2600m – B: 29.8km – 2 * core

Felt much better in today’s swim, which bore a remarkable similarity to the one on Wednesday, probably because we had a new coach who I’d never seen before. No cramps, stroke felt pretty good and the session was much easier. Cycled in and out of work as well.

400 FS Warm Up
4 * {
    50 K on 1:10
    50 P on 50
    50 FS on 45}
6 * 100 FS on 1:40 (1:24)
4 * 100 IM on 1:55 (1:30)
4 * 100 Form on 1:55
4 * 50 FS on 45
200 FS warm down
Total: 2800m

S: 5200m – B: 30km – R: 7.5km – 3 core sessions

Got a lot done in the last two days. I’ve been waking up with a sore lower back on and off for the last couple of months. Nothing serious, just a bit of an ache that goes away pretty soon after getting up. Nevertheless, I was wondering what was causing it, since I hadn’t done myself an injury that I could recall. After doing a bit of reading up on general training I’ve figured it out. Since I’m doing a fair bit of cycling and running, my hip flexors are getting a good workout. They tend to pull my pelvis/lower spine forward, and my abdominals would tend to pull it back. However, I can’t remember the last time I did a sit-up, so my abs are seriously weak and it’s most likely this imbalance which is causing the problem.

This week is the first week back training after the New Year, so I decided to incorporate some ‘core’ work, ie: exercises to strengthen the torso area, back and front. Did them on Monday, got up on Tuesday and did them again, then cycled into work and home again, then went for a 20min run last night. According to the scales this morning I’ve lost 2kg since Monday which gets me back to pre-Christmas weight, though it must be just a loss of water. Anyway, I’ll take it.

B: 15km – R: 3.5km – 2 core sessions

Got back on the bike yesterday to cycle in to work, then got a few laps of Centennial Park in on the way home. I can feel the difference now that I’ve sat on my arse for a couple of week, and the fact that I’m almost 1.5kg heavier after Christmas excess doesn’t help either.

While working at home today, I got the call from Jacqui: “I’ve forgotten my lunch. Can you cycle in and bring it to me?”,1),
(

That’s another 10km training ride under my belt ;-)

B: 53.4km

Took the day off work yesterday as it was Bevin’s last day before flying back to NZ. She decided she wanted to do a bike safari around Olympic Park, so she got to wear my snowboard helmet in lieu of a real bike one, and ride my new mountain bike as it was the only one without clip pedals. As luck would have it, Bondi Junction train station was closed for track work, so we had to cycle to Edgecliff. Bevin wasn’t too impressed with the climb out of Double Bay! Got the train to Central, then ended up sitting there for ages waiting for the train to Olympic Park. The trip planner web site said there was one, but after 30mins of waiting I approached a station guard who told us we had to go to Lidcombe and change there! You’d expect the latest information to be on the web!

Got off at Lidcombe and decided to cycle to Olympic Park as it was only a couple of minutes. Once there we cycled around the place checking out the various venues – Aquatic Centre, Stadium Australia, the SuperDome etc. and then got out the mini map with the cycle routes marked on it and followed a few of those. I had brought the video camera so I did a few pans of Bevin cycling past various landmarks to document the trip. We spent about 90mins out there looking around, then had to get on the train before 3pm as there would be issues with having bikes on the train during peak time.

Cycled home from Edgecliff via Bellevue Hill and then up the hill on Old South Head Road. Bevin definitely wasn’t impressed with that one, but she kept going and made it to the top without stopping so she was pretty chuffed. After that it was a quick shower and off down to meet Nathan at Icebergs for some well-earned beers and a bit of food.

So, that’s the first bit of exercise for 2005. Bevin flew out today, so the holidays are officially over now and it’s back to the grindstone.

B: 20km

Cycled in and out of work on Tuesday, with a few bonus laps of the Park on the way home. Got some reasonably quick laps in (6:58) without too much effort. When I got home I decided to go for a run straight off the bike to see what it was like – bloody weird. HR was about 8-10bpm higher than normal and it just felt a little odd. Had intended to do 5km, but stopped after 2.5 as my legs were knackered. Winding down the training now for Christmas. no more swimming and not much cycling. Will try to keep some running going as that’s my weak area.

S: 2500m – B: 26.4km – R: 7.6km

Well, it’s Friday and I’m about to leave Canberra for the final time this year. Good news is that my contract has been extended for another six months so there’s no worries on the job front. Bad news is that I’ve managed to acquire a cold, so training is out the window. I got another run in on Tuesday evening, then went mountain biking with Dean and Tom on Wednesday, ending up at the pub splattered with mud. It was Christmas party time yesterday, so many more beers were had, so it’s been an active week on all fronts. No more training for the rest of the week, but I’m collecting my new MTB this weekend, so we’ll be out for a ride in the Royal National Park.

S: 3300m – B: 20km – R: 8.9km

Bought myself a new MTB at the weekend. It’s a Rocky Mountain ETSX-50 and I managed to score a bargain. It’s the 2003 model, so the importer was having a bit of a fire sale trying to clear out their remaining stock, so I got it for half price! I’ve put a deposit down and will be picking it up at the weekend.

Cycled in and out of work yesterday with a couple of laps on the way home again. Wasn’t feeling the greatest after being at Jacqui’s christmas party the night before, so took the bike on the ferry on the way in. Still wasn’t too enthusiastic about cycling home either and debated leaving the bike in the office, but leaving a good bike without a lock wasn’t a good idea. I’m sure it would have been fine, but if it did get nicked I’d be screwed, so I cycled home.

S: 5800m – B: 45.2km – R: 5km

Cycled into work yesterday and did a couple of Centennial Park laps on the way home as well. Once home it was a quick change then out the door for a run. I upped my run/walk intervals to 7min running, 1min walking and it felt fine. Four of those totalled 5km and my legs are in good shape today, so things are looking up.

Run session:

5min walk warm up
4 * {
    7min R/1min W }
5min walk cool down

S: 2800m – B: 22.6km – R: 5km

Almost finished another lazy week. Went for a swim yesterday lunch time:

200 FS Hypoxic 3/5
4 * 50 FS on 60
4 * (25K/25S) on 1:15
4 * 8L/8R/8full on 1:15
4 * Fast K/Slow Arms on 60
4 * 100 FS on 1:35 (1:18)
6 * (25 IM Order/25 FS) on 60
3 * 100 FS on 1:30 (1:20)
6 * 50 FS on 60
2 * 100 FS on 1:25 (1:16)
6 * 50 FS on 60
Total: 2800m

Went for a 15km cycle around the various hills in my area: Down to Rose Bay, then uphill through Bellevue Hill, down to Bondi, up Military Road, along Old South Head to Watsons Bay, then up through Vaucluse to New South Head Road and back down into Rose Bay.

My toe is much better, so it will be back to running next week. I’m off to Bronte now to see if I can get a late entry for the Bondi to Bronte Ocean Swim which is on tomorrow morning.

S: 2800m – B: 15km

Went out MTBing last night with the lads from work and had a brilliant time. Mount Majura is just outside Canberra (10min ride) and has a pine plantation on one side. This plantation, Majura Pines, is littered with singletrack and you can quite easily spend hours in there riding around in and out of trees, up & down dips and even a couple of jumps (which we didn’t do ;-)

This is definitely the way forward – so much more fun than just cruising along a fire trail. So much so, that myself and Tommy were even thinking we might come down to Canberra on a non-work trip at some stage. Something like leave Sydney Saturday morning, drive to Kangaroo Valley and do a run there, then continue on to Can-burr-I-A. Stay in a hotel, visit to debacle for some gourmet pizza/belgian beer, then up the next morning and spend a few hours riding around Mt. Majura with maybe a side trip over to Mt. Stomlo (need to find out more about that area). Then drive back to Sydney that night.

All in all, a great way to spend a few hours!

B: 40km – R: 7.5km

Went out for a mountain bike here in Canberra last night with the guys from work. We rented bikes as we could get our bikes down in the car, but wouldn’t be able to get them back to Sydney as John was using the car to move out of his place. It was an easy ride, with two short rocky hills providing the only effort. Saw loads of kangaroos and a couple of rabbits as well. Looks like we’re going again on Thursday as well.

B: 20km – R: 3.75km

Now I’m officially exhausted. Just got back from the Blue Mountains after going mountain biking with Kevin, Tom & Niall. We did the Narrowneck Ride near Katoomba. It’s 27km out and back fire trail, with the best scenery of any ride we’ve done so far. There’s a pretty steep hill straight after the start of the ride which myself and Tom got off and walked up. He got a bit dizzy, which he thought might have been altitude sickness, since we were over 1000m above sea level. This was the first MTB ride we’d done in about 6 months and was easily the highest – the other ones in the Blue Mountains were in the lower ranges – and with the hard hill sending all the blood rushing to the legs, dizziness is not that surprising. We took things a bit easy for a while, which suited me down to the ground after yesterday’s ride.

At the end of the ithmus were the most amazing views: 270 degrees of wilderness with the Warragamba Dam (Sydney’s main water supply) off in the distance. A real feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, spoilt slightly by the high-voltage power lines running through the valley! We sat around for a little while, soaking up the “at one with nature” feeling ;-) before getting back on the bikes for the homeward leg.

There are a couple of REALLY steep hills on this ride, so I ended up walking a few times though I’m not sure that made it any easier! Still, for every uphill there’s a downhill and we made the most of those. One long final climb back to the car park and we were done, then it was off to Leura for some lunch and a pit stop in the best sweet shop in Australia (as far as I’m concerned anyway). I definitely want to do that ride again and the next time I’m bringing my video camera as the views are too big to capture properly in a still frame. Tom got a few shots, so I’ll get a few from him and stick them up here.

Tom’s bike computer read 26.99km at the end of the ride, so I managed to just top 200km of riding for the week. I also managed my goal of 200+ aerobic points so I’m pretty pleased with that. Early to bed tonight as I have (want) to do a similar amount of work next week too.

S: 8300m – B: 200.5km – R: 8.4km

Crawled out of bed at 5:45 on Saturday morning to go on the Cheeky Monkey ride to Kurnell and back. Made it down to the shop at about 6:25, just before they left. The pacee was quite a bit quicker than the beginners’ ride I’d been doing, which was hardl surprising as two of the girls had just got back from Hawaii Ironman and a couple of others had been doing the half-Ironman at Forster last weekend. I’d left my HR monitor strap at home and for some reason that meant the watch wouldn’t show speed, but it would show cadence? Not sure why that is, but I reckon we were averaging 35kmh or so.

The ride itself wasn’t too hard, but I was looking forward to the stop at Kurnell so I could stretch a bit. Ate a few jellies too, which is apparently a great way of getting some fast energy on the bike, before hitting the road for the return journey. It seemed to go a lot quicker on teh way back, probably because I knew what was coming up next. I did my turn at the front and didn’t slow anyone down, which was a bit of a relief, then finished up at the shop for a total of 76km. Add 12.3 to that for getting to/from home and some messing about in Centennial Park and it was a grand total of 88.3km. I was pretty exhausted when I got home!

S: 8300m – B: 173.5km – R: 8.4km